Voldemort's Daughter
by Fomhoire
Summary: During the summer Harry and the Dursley's meet someone intimately connected with his past... and his future
1. A car ride and a castle

Voldemort's Daughter  
  
First story ever- cross your fingers everyone. And don't throw tomatoes at the screen- my sister did it while she was proofreading this and my Dad had a hissy-fit. (But it was worth the money to fix the monitor just to see that.) Throw lettuce or bananas- cleanups a cinch.   
  
For your information Ron, Harry, Hermione and the gang are in the beginning of their sixth year at Hogwarts. The war with Voldemort is about to begin and Harry Potter is at the center of it all. Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore is having a tremendously hard time finding a suitable Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher and refuses to even consider the nutterbrain Minister Fudge wants him to employ.   
  
Nothing in this story is mine. Everything belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling except for July- whom I made up, and the excerpt from "Fat Bottomed Girls" which belongs to Freddy Mercury or Queen or some record exec.  
  
Everyone (The two of you reading this) DO NOT FORGET TO CROSS YOUR FINGERS.   
  
Harry's alarm clock rung promptly at 6:30 am on Friday August 13. He didn't know why it had rung- he certainly would never have set an alarm clock to go off at 6:30 on a Friday during summer vacation unless… "Oh damn" he thought as he quickly sprang from his bed and began to hurriedly get dressed. Harry was so tired he forgot that he was straight and dressed like an actual human being instead of an average 16 year old boy.  
  
Once dressed he sprinted down the stairs at top speed only to find the whole family sitting in the kitchen already dressed up all prim and proper waiting for him. They seemed to have forgotten that the eight hour car ride was going to wreak havoc on their fancy suits Harry could have sworn he'd seen on "The Old Timers' Oscar's Worst Outfits." Harry was pretty sure it had been hosted by John Rivers- even though her own outfit had been number 3 on the list. Aunt Petunia was fixing Dudley's orange bowtie while Uncle Vernon was frantically flipping through a stack of papers on his desk.   
  
"Where the hell could it have gone," he was muttering to himself. And then upon noticing Harry's belated entrance Uncle Vernon forgot he was doing and turned towards the late boy with an expression of pure hate written upon his face. Harry did not fail to notice that Uncle Vernon looked at Dudley's sweaty socks with more love than he showed Harry. "Where have you been?" he asked.   
  
Harry found the question rather amusing after all where could he have been, and was about to reply with a smart-alecky remark along the lines of, "I was off on a nice early morning stroll- to walk off the hangover I have from last nights huge wizards bash. I got positively drunk off all the spells I uttered last night- especially the one where I set a curse upon the family that will cause you all to (drum roll please) smile, because really Aunt Petunia, you should watch out for frown lines," when he thought better of it. He instead replied with a bland, "I suppose I must have overslept."  
  
Aunt Petunia sniffed in a way that Harry knew she thought was delicately and turned her nose up at Harry as if he were a particularly nasty piece of the dinner she had cooked the night before (imagine a cross between Haggis, Blood Budding, Boiled Sheep's Head, and the leftover Beet casserole your mother made).  
  
"Well, never mind. We must hurry if we hope to make it to the hotel in time." Uncle Vernon had a "very important meeting" with some buyers from some random foreign country where everyone had weird accents (probably South Carolina). For some odd reason they had decided to hold the meeting at an obscure hotel in Glasgow and insisted that everyone bring their families to stay the weekend.   
  
It had originally been decided that Harry was to stay with the elderly Ms. Figg next door but plans had abruptly been changed when the Dursleys discovered that Ms. Figg was a witch herself. (The Durseleys could not care less weather she was a squib or not- a witch was a witch!) So now the Dursleys were forced to bring Harry to the hotel in Glasgow, but they made sure he was well aware of the rules of conduct. The list was so long Harry at first feared it would not be able to fit in his suitcase even if he did only pack one change of knickers. Some of the rules were more obvious- "Do not under any circumstances fly your broom through the hotel," while others made Harry wonder how on earth the Dursleys could pretend they had no sense of humour- "You may not clog the toilets of the hotel with bewitched bath towels." Surprisingly enough this was number 3- right after "Do not kill Dudley" and right before "Do not kill Uncle Vernon." Harry briefly wondered if Uncle Vernon was aware of where Aunt Petunia's priorities lay.   
  
As if on cue Dudley, Aunt Petunia, and Harry proceeded to walk outside and stand around the car waiting for Uncle Vernon to hurry his fat arse outside and open the doors. He took his sweet time locking the door behind him despite Dudley's incessant whining at him to hurry up.  
  
Just as they were about to get in Mr. Brashares from across the street walked by. He lifted up his hand as if about to wave at them, but upon spotting Harry, quickly put his hand down again and practically ran away from the Dursley's driveway. Harry almost laughed to think about how crazy one would have to be to believe Uncle Vernon's nutty story about him being enrolled at St. Brutus's School for Incurably Criminal Boys.   
  
Uncle Vernon had wisely decided to pack the car the night before to prevent a mix up on this most important morning. Harry used the term "wisely" very loosely when it came to his Uncle because he still remembered the time that Uncle Vernon had slipped sweets and candies to Dudley even when his school nurse had decreed that Dudley was way overweight and the school proprietor had notified them that there were no uniforms in Dudley's size. Uncle Vernon still referred to Dudley's girth as a manly paunch. Yes- a manly paunch- and the Titanic sustained "some water damage."   
  
The eight hour ride to the hotel was quite uneventful and Harry began to feel jealous of all the poor little children who were lucky enough to have to listen to their parents sing out of date rock songs at the top of their lungs during long car trips. As if lost in a dream Harry began to sing, "OOOOOOOHHHHHH, you gonna take me home tonight. OOOOOOHHHHHHH, down beside that red fire light. OOOOOOHHHHHH, you gonna let it all hang out. Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go round." For a while there Harry was sure Dudley was on the verge of joining in, but was quickly stalled with a chilling glance from his mother, so instead he decided that punching Harry in the arm would be just as much fun.   
  
"What are you so pissy about? You've got an arse bony enough to break one of Hagrid's biscuits on. Probably just jealous that you don't make the rockin' world go round." Harry muttered under his breath while rubbing his arm.  
  
Dudley was very pleased to announce that he was going to count trees to pass the time. Neither Aunt Petunia nor Uncle Vernon commented on this unusual method, but Harry had the sneaking suspicion that they were both incredibly pleased to learn that Dudley could count at all. Dudley never got higher than seven because every time a cluster of trees would appear he would lose count, throw a miniature fit and be forced to start all over. Harry heard Aunt Petunia whisper to Uncle Vernon that he should slow down the car to help Dudley out. Harry felt the car slow down another ten kilometers an hour and sighed. Only six hours left.   
  
During the car ride Harry attempted to sort out his thoughts about what had occurred during the catastrophe at the Ministry of Magic. He smiled when he thought about Draco's reaction when he had heard that his father was locked up in Azkaban. He attempted to keep the picture in his mind before thoughts of Sirius intruded, but to no avail. Over and over in his mind Harry replayed the moment that Sirius had fallen behind the curtain. He analyzed every nano-second of the time before hand in an attempt to find what he could have done to prevent his death.   
  
Unbidden a voice in Harry's head said, "Do not dwell in the past, but live in the future." Harry looked around frantically trying to figure out where the voice could have come from and finally remembered that it was something Dumbledore had told him after Cedric's death. (A/N- do not remember if he actually said this.)   
  
Harry decided it would be a wise decision to follow this advice and began to rescour Daily Prophet papers in his head and picked apart the parts that interested him. "Mystery Muggle Deaths Haunt Weatherby," "Veronica Nairy Connected to Voldemort," and "Attempted Break In at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Although the break in had been unsuccessful it was this last article that worried Harry the most. He had partly been counting on Voldemort's fear of Dumbledore to keep him safe for the next two years. And now he finds out that Voldemort is trying to get into Hogwarts! It definitely disturbed Harry greatly.   
  
Harry had also received vast amounts of mail from both Ron and Hermione and this summer they had been allowed to discuss issues prominent among the wizarding society. Especially useful were Mr. and Mrs. Weasly's letters stating the opinion and beliefs of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry had wished that they had been able to send them some of their plans but he knew that they couldn't because of the insecurity of mail these days.   
  
With all of these thoughts rushing around in his head Harry felt himself becoming slightly groggy, but didn't want to sleep just yet- he knew he'd have plenty of time for that locked up in the hotel room. He forced his eyes open and decided to join Dudley in his time killing exercise.   
  
By the time they had reached the hotel Dudley had reached 24 (Harry had reached 1,259 when he had finally given up) and Harry was ready to kill him because midway through the ride Dudley had decided it would be helpful to count out loud. Four hours of "1..2,3…..4,5,6….6…oh damnit- I have to start over," had taken their toll on Harry's sanity. He noticed that even Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked a little peaked too.   
  
Now that they had arrived at the hotel Harry knew that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would be going nuts inside wondering how they were going to survive the whole weekend without anyone noticing they had another boy around- a boy with a pet owl for that matter.  
  
And that's when the entire family got a look at the hotel. Uncle Vernon gasped and Aunt Petunia let out a miniature scream and Harry starred in awe while Dudley bent down to inspect his brand new shoes- they were the light up kind Harry could have sworn no kid over eight wore. If Harry didn't have to spend a weekend in this place he would have laughed at the idea of the Dursleys staying here but as it was….  
  
The outside was a model of a 14th century castle built by some king or lord (or some other rich white man with absolutely no empathy for any one else, and no taste for that matter) and Harry had to admit it was an interesting idea for a hotel but the problem was that it looked like it had been built during the 14th century. The gray stones that made up the outside of the walls were covered in grease, grime, and huge amounts of mold. The water in the moat surrounding the castle was brown and Harry knew it could pass for that awful American coffee that cowboys drank- so strong it was mud. The drawbridge looked like something out of someone's worst nightmare. Every other wooden plank was missing and most of the ones that were still there were littered with holes and huge giant black spots. The rope was black with age, frayed at every point, and was obviously rotted. There were two turrets at the North and South corners of the castle and each was leaning dangerously outwards as if a strong wind would blow it over. If one looked close one would be able to see that several stones from the turrets had already fallen to the ground.   
  
Uncle Vernon looked around frantically as if he thought that he had driven past the real hotel and ended up in the wrong place. He walked into the forest surrounding the castle as if expecting the real hotel to just appear behind a tree. Harry could not blame Uncle Vernon for his panic for both knew that there was no way that the bridge would ever be able to hold Dudley's weight and Harry had to admit he was a little unsure it could hold his own weight.   
  
Aunt Petunia scrunched her face up like a mouse to the point where a small squeak would have assured every one of her species. She viewed the "hotel" with disdain and Harry knew she was thinking of all the cleaning it would take to get this hotel presentable to anyone better than a street bum.   
  
Dudley was still staring at his shoes.   
  
"Well! Let's go, shall we?" Uncle Vernon asked in a blatantly overly-cheerful voice. "I'm sure that once we get inside things will get better." His attempt at cheerfulness was diminished greatly by the way that came out more like a question and by the obvious fact that he didn't believe a word of what he had just said.   
  
Dudley finally looked up from his shoes and Harry was surprised to notice that Dudley looked pleasantly surprised. He grinned from ear to ear and said, "This looks like a very cool hotel." And leaving a very surprised mother and father behind Dudley shot off- not really though because it is hard for someone of Dudley's size to run. He did not even stop at the drawbridge and instead just kept on running and Aunt Petunia let out another barely audible scream as his feet pounded across the planks. Dudley stopped at the end of the bridge and stared open-mouthed and then turned around to look at his parents as if to say, 'Well!? Aren't you coming?'  
  
Uncle Vernon gave a kind of satisfied grunt and turned toward Harry. "You are going to be our little servant boy for the weekend, got it!? We are going to go in and meet Ms. Riddle while you bring our stuff up. We will bring you up so food after dinner. AND REMEMBER! NO FUNNY BUSINESS! This weekend think Oliver Twist, okay?" Uncle Vernon turned and left Harry speechless by the car loaded with trunks.   
  
Harry did not have time to be upset about Uncle Vernon making him bringing up all of the trunks- about ten of them in all because Dudley could not be without any of his gadgets for an hour let alone a weekend. He kept rerunning one phrase of the speech through his head- "Ms. Riddle." Harry tried not to panic; after all there must be hundreds, no thousands, of Riddles in Britain alone. Yes that was it- it was just a coincidence. 


	2. Meeting Ms Riddle

Voldemort's Daughter II  
  
I do not own any Harry Potter charcters. I own July Riddle and the plot- which doesn't really exist yet, but I'm working on it.   
  
Major thanks to Aislin-Black who is the only non- family/non-friend who reviewed my story. Thanks bunches.   
  
Thanks to my girl scout troop and my sister who is going to be away for the next week! AAGHHH!   
  
Reassured, Harry unloaded the car and made to pick up the trunks, which would have been very awkward, when out of nowhere a golden trolley appeared in front of Harry's face. Harry looked around as if trying to see who had delivered the trolley and saw that there was no one in the vicinity. Still a little wary Harry loaded the trunks onto the trolley and pushed it over the bridge and into the hotel.   
  
The trunks were piled very high on the trolley and since Harry could not see around it he was surprised when he ran right into a person standing in front of him. He turned his face around the trolley to apologize to the person he had hit and was startled to see it was Uncle Vernon who was standing next to Aunt Petunia, both of standing stock still just staring at their surroundings. And that's when Harry too looked around.  
  
The entire room was decorated in a deep rich red and it took Harry only a split second to identify it as the exact colour of human blood. The blood still glistened on the walls as if a fresh coat had been applied recently, but it did not smell as though new paint had just been used. Harry watched in horror as a droplet of blood dripped from the wall only to disappear into the matching carpet. The heavy oak desk was decorated in a reddish finish and the dozen or so different mirrors each had a gold-red frame. There were miniature side table drawers at each corner and atop each sat a clear glass vase filled with red roses. There was a welcoming couch across from the desk but Harry could never imagine anyone ever sitting in it. It was, like everything else in the room, red, but upon each soft looking pillow was an embroidered serpent in a slightly rustier shade of red, as if the blood had been left to dry. There was no secretary behind the oak desk but Harry briefly wondered if she too would be slightly red.   
  
And then Harry saw what had stopped the Dursleys dead in their tracks. The huge oak doors that led into the main part of the hotel had a giant carving of a serpent on it. It seemed to be a part of the door and a separate entity at the same time as if it had been carved before hand and then added to the door as an afterthought. The serpent seemed to be moving- yes there- the tail had definitely moved. After a minute or so passed and Harry had convinced himself he must have imagined the serpent moving, the serpent turned its head to stare straight at the three of them and made a hissing noise. The serpents ruby eyes sought out and stared straight at Harry and ignored the Dursleys. Harry had to remind himself that it was only a carving and that carvings could not move or speak.   
  
But then the carving said something that Harry couldn't understand at first. It seemed to be saying, "Tell me." 'Tell it what?' Harry thought.  
  
Before Harry had a chance to guess at what he was supposed to say as the oak doors swung wide open to reveal a woman who Harry instinctively knew was Ms. Riddle- and definitely Lord Voldemort's Daughter. She seemed like a female version of Tom Riddle with long dark hair that seemed easily mussed, round violet eyes in an even and extremely pale face, with a slightly pointed nose that was covered in freckles. As she stepped forward to greet the Dursleys Harry realized that Ms. Riddle was also extremely tall- much taller than Uncle Vernon. He also noticed that Dudley had still been staring at his shoes during his parents inspection of the main room. The lights had begun to dull after all the stomping Dudley had done to make them light up the first day.   
  
She opened her mouth to say something and then seemed to notice Harry. Her mouth shut and her eyes widened. And then with a jolt she turned her face down to stare straight in to his eyes. Harry was looking down at the four of them standing around the room and it seemed to him as if his real self had vanished and evaporated and he never wanted to go back again. He felt as if he were drowning and burning and dieing and floating- as if the world was perfect and he was the world- he was perfect- everything was perfect. And then with a splash, it was gone. Harry was suddenly plunged into darkness. Everything around him was black and silent. Harry instinctively knew that he was alone- completely alone with no one. He felt around him to try to feel for walls to figure out a way to escape and find somebody. It was at the moment he realized that there were no walls, that he was in a world with no living soul except himself that he was jerked back to Earth.   
  
When he felt well enough to start paying attention to his surrounding again Ms. Riddle was talking to the Dursleys. "Your rooms are straight up the stairs and to the right. But I thought you said you were only bringing three people so your rooms are only meant to house three people. But not to worry, I'm sure we can find another room to house your…" she paused and waited for Uncle Vernon to fill in the blank.   
  
Uncle Vernon was still in a bit of a shock to be looking up at a woman and it took him a while to respond. "Oh… Um… Yes. Well don't bother. Finding another room. Harry will be fine sleeping on the floor. Oh! And he's our nephew." Aunt Petunia nodded her head a little too quickly as if to reassure Ms. Riddle that this was true.  
  
But Ms. Riddle wouldn't here anything of the sort, "Pshaww. [A/N- what the hell does Pshaww sound like? And does anyone actually say it?] It will not be a problem for us to find another room for Harry. This castle is so huge and Mr. Blashings and Mr. Werlin did not invite that many people. So Harry," she said turning to face him but not looking directly in his eyes, "what color room would you like?"  
  
Harry tried not to look too panicked. He was in a hotel with Voldemort's daughter and now she was going to separate him from the Dursleys! He had to think of something quick! "No, really, like Uncle Vernon said I will be happy to share a room with them. Really!" he added upon noting the incredulous look on her face. Harry was inwardly amazed himself- he had actually just told someone he wanted to share a room with the Dursleys!  
  
She seemed a little irritated now. "Harry! I want you to be comfortable here and that is why you are going to sleep in a room where there is enough room for you to move around in. If you're that eager to be near your family we'll put you in the room next to theirs. How does that sound?"  
  
Harry was about to refuse once again when Uncle Vernon pitched in, "That is an excellent idea. Harry sometimes has nightmares so it is a good idea for him to be in a room near ours. I hope he does not disturb any of your other clients while he's here. Please tell us if he causes a disturbance."  
  
Ms. Riddle seemed interested at the idea that Harry had nightmares but thought better of asking about them so soon. Instead she said, "Well I'll show you up to your rooms now." Uncle Vernon turned to get the luggage trolley and looked startled when he noticed it was gone. "Oh! Your luggage has already been brought to your rooms! Just follow me."  
  
She turned around and waited for the Dursleys to follow her. With one last helpless look around the room Uncle Vernon followed her. She stopped at the heavy oak doors and said, "Open!" and put her hand on the serpents head." Soundlessly the door opened and Harry waited for the Dursleys to be shocked that the door opened at command. When he noticed their placid faces he realized that they hadn't even heard her say open. At first Harry was confused by this, but then he realized that Ms. Riddle must have been speaking in parseltongue!   
  
The room immediately joining the blood room seemed to be the complete opposite of the well organized colour coordinated room they had left. This room looked as though the main decorators had been two toddlers intent to outdo each other in their use of colour. Each wall was a different colour- one was violet, one was a bright green, one was yellow, and one was blue. The couch against the far wall was white but the three cushions on it were pink, orange, and gray. There was a long coffee table in front of the couch made out of walnut wood and there were magazines and books strewn across it in random disarray. Pictures of nature scenes from places Harry didn't recognize hung randomly all over the walls and a small TV was placed on the floor across from the couch. On the wall on their right a huge sound system the size of Harry's bed sat on the floor complete with amps and plugs. It looked as if it had not been used in years. It was not dusty exactly but it was so neat and organized it was obvious that no one had ever played it. Upon further inspection Harry realized that the television had the same look. On the wall on the left a huge curving staircase led up to another floor that from down here seemed dark and empty.   
  
Once again Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had stopped to stare at their surroundings and Ms. Riddle had to snap them out of it- literally, she snapped her fingers under their noses. When they jumped as if startled she laughed softly. The sound rung in Harry's ears and made him feel slightly dizzy.   
  
"Cush and Blink decorated the room. I knew they'd turn out something like this, but I love them to much to say to anything they ask." Still seeing how shocked the Dursleys looked at the idea that anyone would ever let their room be massacred like this she hastily explained, "Once you meet them you will realize why I couldn't possibly deny them. Anyway, your rooms are right upstairs so just follow me."   
  
The Dursleys and Harry once again turned to follow Ms. Riddle, only this time up a set of stairs that seemed to grow longer the higher and faster they climbed. Dudley seemed to notice this too and he began to whine softly to himself, "Damn stupid stairs. Any normal person would have an elevator in a horrible place like this."   
  
Eventually the party reached the top of the stairs to be confronted by a very long hallway- so long that Harry could not see the end of it no matter how hard he squinted. Ms. Riddle led them down the hallway a little way to a door that Harry could have sworn had not been there a second before. She turned the handle and the door swung wide open to reveal a room a little bigger than the one he had at Four Privet Drive. This room had been decorated in the theme of… Harry blinked… blinked again… Gryffindor colours. The bed was covered in a maroon bedspread and the pillows were gold coloured. The wallpaper was a soft yellow and the carpet was maroon with little golden snitches on it. The desk in the corner seemed perfectly normal but Harry could see that the pen on it was in the shape of a miniature broom and the pad of stationary paper on it had the name "Harry Potter" embossed on the top of each sheet. A window was placed on one wall and there was a bookcase filled with books right next to it. From the door Harry could read "Denis Doclair's Guide to Defense Against the Dark Arts," "How to Stop a Dark Wizard," and "99 Spells that Could Save Your Life In Dark Situations."  
  
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon appeared not to have noticed any of these obvious signs- they could be so thick sometimes- and Aunt Petunia turned to Ms. Riddle, "Oh! I really hope it isn't too much trouble putting Harry up in a second room. This room is so nice, I am not sure… that Harry can… handle having such a nice place to stay."   
  
Ms. Riddle frowned slightly at this. "Do you mean to tell me that he doesn't have a nice room at home?" She seemed genuinely upset at the idea and Harry couldn't help liking her for just a split second.   
  
Aunt Petunia sputtered slightly and then, eager to redeem herself in Ms. Riddle's eyes, very quickly said, "Of course he has a nice room at home. He just has never stayed in a nice room outside our house before. You know. Away from us. Like this." She nodded for emphasis.  
  
Ms. Riddle was still frowning but nodded as if she understood what Aunt Petunia had meant. She turned to lead the Dursleys toward their set of room when Harry interrupted her quickly. "Where is my stuff?"  
  
Uncle Vernon immediately glared at Harry for speaking out loud, but then frowned upon realizing that Harry had asked an excellent question- one that he had been pondering ever since his stuff had disappeared into thin air in the main lobby. He looked quickly around the room and saw that there was no trace of Harry's luggage anywhere in the room.   
  
Ms. Riddle frowned slightly and looked around the room. "I could have sworn I told them…" She broke off in mid sentence and strode to the desk/ dresser and pulled out one of the drawers. She looked up triumphantly. "Your stuff is all in here Harry. I had Cush and Blink put everything away for you already. I'm sure you have plenty of things you want to do before school begins again- no use in having you waste time putting things away."  
  
She walked back to the Dursleys and asked, "Shall I show you to your rooms now?" Aunt Petunia nodded and she and Dudley followed her out the door. Uncle Vernon paused for a second in the doorway obviously still trying to figure out how Harry's stuff had ended up in his drawers so quickly. He shook his head and then turned and walked out the door. The door closed silently behind even though he had not touched it.   
  
Harry was left alone in the room that had obviously been magicked to suit all of his needs. Harry walked over to the dresser and began to peruse its contents. The first few drawers contained the clothes Harry had backed, but the interesting stuff was in the last few drawers. In them were hundreds of bottles of different potions ingredients each one labeled and alphabetized then put in its own special compartment. There was a medium sized cauldron in one along with a self heating stove and a mirror.   
  
Harry shut the drawers quickly as he heard feet advancing toward his room. The door flew open and Dudley stood in the entrance looking very pleased. "Harry, you wouldn't believe it! My room has a TV and a playstation and all these games and videos and all these things that Mom and Dad would never have gotten me. But poor you, all you got was some weird carpet." Dudley smiled happily oblivious to the fact that Harry seemed very pleased with the room he had been given. Just then Ms. Riddle appeared in the doorway and Dudley turned around to face her. In a falsely sweet voice Dudley reserved just for sucking up to grown ups Dudley said, "Ms. Riddle! Thank you so much for you kindness. My room is wonderful. Thank you so much."  
  
Ms. Riddle smiled kindly at him but Harry could see that she was obviously annoyed at his attempt to make her think he was appreciative. "You're welcome very much. Now if you don't mind I'd like to talk to Harry for a minute." Dudley looked shocked at the idea that anyone would want to talk to Harry but did as he was told and scampered away. Harry knew he was going straight to Aunt Petunia to tell her that Ms. Riddle had requested to talk to Harry. Once again the door shut silently without being touched.   
  
Ms. Riddle pulled a chair out from under the desk that Harry was sure had not been there a second before. She ran her fingers over the top before she sat down in it. She looked straight ahead of her before she turned to look at Harry. She looked at him, but Harry could tell that she was avoiding his eyes and Harry decided that this was probably a good thing. "How have you been Harry?"   
  
Harry jumped at the question and remained silent for several moments. He was not sure what he should say to her. She seemed nice enough but Harry knew that in times like these no one could be trusted, no matter how nice they seemed and the fact that she shared the same last name as Lord Voldemort did not make Harry feel anymore comfortable about talking to her. Harry decided that the best way to go about this would be to play dumb even though he knew it could backfire horribly; he just didn't know what else to do.  
  
"I'm fine although summer is almost over. How have you been?" His tone of voice made it evident that he had only asked the question to be polite.   
  
She seemed rather annoyed at the question and brushed it off quickly. "I'm fine," she said abruptly, "but I can hear about myself anytime. Let's talk about you." Harry was shocked at her bluntness and remained silent. Ms. Riddle allowed the silence to continue for several moments before she said, "How did your O.W.L s go?"  
  
Harry stared at her, shocked, for several moments. Okay- now she definitely had to be a witch if she knew about O.W.L s. Harry silently debated on weather to tell her his scores but then decided against it, after her he nothing about her except that she was the daughter of his, and every other good witch or wizard, worst enemy. "I did fine."  
  
Silence lingered for another minute and then she asked, "Do you have a lot of friends at Hogwarts?" She paused and then added, "I imagine you'd be very popular after what happened."  
  
Harry's head shot up. 'Oh my God!' he thought. 'She knows that I killed her father.' Upon noticing that he was beginning to panic, he forced himself to calm down. "I have a few close friends and then some acquaintances."  
  
She seemed to latch onto this as if it were her last lifeline. "Who are your friends?" She looked at him expectantly while Harry debated weather or not to tell her.   
  
'What if she used the information to get back Harry or killed Ron and Hermione?' Harry finally decided to completely lie about his friends and hope she'd end up killing them instead. "Well my favorite friends are Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Marcus Goyle." (A/N- what are Crabbe and Goyle's first names?)  
  
She looked at him quizzically for a moment and then a look of disgust came on her face. "You're friends with Lucius's son? I though they were in Slytherin." She looked around the room and then said, "aren't you in Gryffindor?"  
  
Harry was kind of shocked that she knew Malfoy's father. "You know Lucius Malfoy?" and then upon remembering her question added, "Yes, they are in Slytherin and I'm in Gryffindor, but… it is …really not that bad." Harry realized how lame his response sounded but hoped she wouldn't.  
  
The look on her face told Harry plainly that she did. "Lucius was a… friend of my fathers." She looked at Harry directly as if trying to make her next point sink into his brain, "A very close friend." Harry nodded his head as if to show that he had understood but she continued on, "I am definitely surprised that you'd be friends with the likes of Draco Malfoy- he doesn't seem like your type of person." She turned away from Harry as if talking to herself and mumbled to herself, "Unless you like stuck-up, arrogant, pretty boys." Harry couldn't help liking her- anyone who disliked Draco Malfoy was a friend of his. She continued to stare at him as if awaiting a response. When none came she said, "Well?" Harry stared at her blankly and she smirked softly. "Who are your friends at Hogwarts?"  
  
"I told you. I like Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Mar…"  
  
She cut him off immediately, "I'm not stupid you know." She once more looked directly into Harry's eyes and Harry found himself thinking, 'She's definitely not stupid.' "Who are your real friends at Hogwarts?"  
  
Harry became very nervous and started fidgeting with the bedspread. Before he could stop himself he blurted out, "You're not going to hurt them or anything are you?"   
  
He looked up to see a very hurt and angry expression on her face. She stood up and glared at Harry and Harry found himself wanting to disappear into the floor. "Don't judge me on what my father did Harry. If I thought of you like I thought of your father I'd expect you to be a cocky son of a bitch." She turned on her heel and left the room, slamming the door behind her and Harry could not help but feel both saddened and relieved that she had left.  
  
Harry rolled over the conversation they had just had. She knew the Malfoys and did not like them. Or maybe she was just pretending to dislike the Malfoys because she knew that Harry didn't like them. It was very likely that she knew that Harry didn't like the Malfoys given how much else she knew about him. Harry sighed and went back to perusing the bookshelves.  
  
*** 


	3. An Odd Dinner Party

Voldemort's Daughter Part III.   
  
Disclaimer:NOne of these characters belong to me except for July Riddle and the plot- maybe. Thanks to every one who reviewed or gave me suggestions. I don't think I could ever put down in words how much they meant to me. And yes- I do know how corny that sounds- but it's ture. Special thanks to my sister, SilverSpoon, who is away in Massachussetts right now- hopefully buying me a birthday present. JK.  
  
Harry had picked up a book he did not recognize as his own, "Olivia Bitton's Guide to simple Dark Arts Spells," and was well into it when there was a small knock on the door. Harry sighed and set down his book expected to come face to face with a mean looking Aunt Petunia. But when he opened the door there was no one there- until he looked down and saw the smallest house elf he had ever seen. The house elf looked up at Harry and smiled and Harry smiled back. The house elf became very excited when Harry smiled at him and began bouncing up and down. "Oh! Harry Potter has smiled at me! Blink come here! Harry Potter has smiled at me!" The elf grabbed Harry's hand and began pumping it up and down in a shaking motion.   
  
A house elf appeared from behind a statue down the hall and ran to Harry's open doorway. Blink was probably the biggest house elf Harry had ever seen and came nearly up to Harry's chest. Blink grabbed Harry's other hand and began to pump it up and down, just like Cush. Both of them were smiling up into Harry's face in a worshipping manner.  
  
Harry tried to think of something to say to them and then said, "Did you make my room up here?" Both house elves nodded the heads fervently and Harry smiled at them again and said, "Well thank you so much. It really is perfect. I don't think I could have designed a more perfect room." Both elves blushed but continued to smile.   
  
There was a moment of silence and then Cush blinked (ha-ha) and as if remembering something said very quickly, "Oh! Harry Potter sir! It is dinner time. July says you should come down very soon." Before Harry could ask who July was Blink said, "July is Ms. Riddle, sir."  
  
Harry nodded and followed the house elves down the winding staircase. He blinked at his surroundings- he could have sworn that the mismatched colour room had been at the bottom of the stairs. But Harry found himself in the middle of a great dining hall with a long black wood table that was covered in various place settings and food dishes. The Dursleys, Ms. Riddle, Mr. Blashings, Mr. Werlin, and the other guests were already sitting around the table and he could tell each of them was looking around the room trying to figure out where the colourful room had gone. He noticed that the Dursleys looked more panicked then the other guests while Mr. Blashings and Mr. Werlin looked pretty calm given the fact that an entire room had disappeared into thin air.   
  
Harry looked around the table and was both pleased and anxious to find that the only available seat left was one just on the right of Ms. Riddle. With a hint of trepidation Harry took his seat beside her. Harry looked around for Cush and Blink and noticed that they had completely disappeared.   
  
While his head was looking around Harry heard Aunt Petunia emit a high pitched scream and he turned around to see why she had screamed. Cush had come up behind Aunt Petunia and had reached around her to serve her the dinner. Uncle Vernon was staring at Cush when Blink came up behind him causing him to jump farther than Harry would have guessed anyone of his stature could have jumped. Dudley looked around himself frantically waiting for another one of the creatures to come around and attack him next. Both Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had grabbed their forks by now and were brandishing them as if they were the only things in the world that could save them from the evil house elves in front of them. Cush and Blink looked around nervously wondering what these two people were doing when Uncle Vernon lashed out with his knife and almost cut Blink's ear off. Blink grabbed at her ear and backed into a corner as she started to whimper and sob.  
  
Ms. Riddle jumped out of her seat and Harry could swear he felt the air around him grow extremely hot. She faced Uncle Vernon and said, "Put down your utensils immediately. If you ever try to hurt my house elves again I will personally see to your disposal." She had spoken in a quiet, calm voice but it had reached the end of the table with the roar of a thunderstorm and the hint of barely leashed rage. Uncle Vernon was practically shaking as he put down his fork and then his knife.   
  
"I... I'm… sorry… I … thought that… house elves?" Uncle Vernon turned to Ms. Riddle. "What are house elves?" Before Ms. Riddle had time to respond Uncle Vernon seemed to have an epiphany. The disappearing trunks, the way their clothes had just appeared in the drawers, the disappearing room, the moving serpent- it all clicked in his mind and he stood up with such force that his chair fell over and the table shook. "You… You…," he sputtered as he pointed his knife at Ms. Riddle. "You're… You're.. just like… him," as he turned and pointed at Harry.   
  
Ms. Riddle seemed to gather herself together and gave a light-hearted laugh. "Now Mr. Dursley. Whatever are you talking about? I most certainly am not, 'just like Harry.'"  
  
But there was no appeasing Uncle Vernon who by now had turned red as a beet and looked ready to burst. He turned to Aunt Petunia and it was as if some invisible signal had passed between them because Aunt Petunia let out a bone-chilling scream that made Blink stop whimpering. Aunt Petunia really seemed to be in a panic now and had gathered Dudley close to her chest as was eyeing the table as if each and every person there wanted nothing more than to kidnap her poor precious little boy. Harry noticed that no one, Uncle Vernon included, was big enough to subdue someone of Dudley's size.   
  
Uncle Vernon was sputtering again and shouting at the top of his lungs. "I will not have my family exposed to this… this nonsense. We will be leaving right away." He turned to Aunt Petunia and Dudley, "Come! Hurry up and back so we can leave this god forsaken place." The three of them rushed up the stairs without glancing back.   
  
Ms. Riddle sat down again and began to serve herself from the platters of food that had been set out on the table. Harry followed his example but couldn't help but noticing out of the corner of his eye as several other people excused themselves from the table and headed upstairs. Within two minutes the entire table was deserted except for Ms. Riddle, Harry, Mr. Blashings, and Mr. Werlin. The Dursleys appeared at the bottom of the stairs each of them carrying several trunks. Without pausing to glance at the table the three of them rushed out of the door and into the red room. Harry could hear the grand entrance doors open and then the rattle as the three of them crossed the bridge. Only after he had heard the car drive off did Harry realize that he was alone in Voldemort's daughter's house without Aunt Petunia- the only person keeping Voldemort from killing him.  
  
As the other three people in the room continued to eat Harry watched as every other person came down the stairs carrying their stuff and hurriedly waked out the door. Everyone looked calm even as they were rushing out of the house and Harry couldn't help but feel as if the whole thing was a set-up. After the last people had left Mr. Blashings and Mr. Werlin excused themselves from the table and exited from the door that had been located near the unused TV, but was now next to a huge china cabinet.   
  
Ms. Riddle put her fork down softly as if scared the plate would shatter, stared directly at Harry and laid her face on her palms with her elbows on the table. Harry continued to nervously eat before it became too much.   
  
"I should probably go try to find the Dursley."  
  
"They're probably very far away by now- your Uncle was in quite a hurry. Kind of odd that they forgot you though- I wasn't sure if they would." She gave Harry a very sinister smile that made Harry's insides clench and said, "It's just you and me alone in the castle. How long do you think it will be before anyone notices you're missing? A day? A week? Until school starts?" She moved her face closer and closer to Harry's and Harry's inside had clenched so tightly they had turned into cream of mushroom soup. She pulled away and gave a laugh that he knew had been meant to put him at ease, but instead it had the opposite effect because it sounded exactly like the laugh Harry had heard in the dreams of Voldemort killing his family.   
  
Harry jumped up from the table ready to sprint away as quickly as possible but Ms. Riddle grabbed his arm and looked up at him with an expression full of contempt and loathing. "I laugh just like him, don't I?" She let go of his arm and stared straight across the room and her expression turned sorrowful.   
  
It took Harry a minute to realize what she had been talking about and he realized that the hatred had not been directed at him but at the person whose laugh she had inherited. Harry sat back down and waited for her to continue, but when a long silence ensued curiosity got the best of Harry and he said, "You look a lot like him too," and prayed that she would know what he was talking about and not explode in his face.   
  
But Harry's hopes were shattered when she turned to glare at him. Harry could practically see needles and pins shooting out of her eyeballs, but before she had time to speak Harry blurted out, "Your door is kind of scary." Harry was really unsure of how she would react to this sentence and was incredibly surprised when her face seemed to soften and she smiled with a far a way look on her face.   
  
"Snakes are such awful creatures, aren't they? I really don't know why I like them exactly- my father liked them, but I don't think that's something that you can inherit, right?" She looked at Harry pleadingly and Harry felt he had no choice but to say, "Of course you can't inherit something like that," although he was a little unsure about that.   
  
Before she had time to say anything Blink walked into the room carrying a letter that seemed twice as big as her. She handed it to Ms. Riddle and then smiled at Harry. When Harry smiled back at her Blink took this as an invitation and immediately ran to stand next to him. She grabbed his hand and began to stroke the back of like it was a cat. "Oh. Harry Potter, sir. I still can not believe that you are here sir. I have heard about you and your friends. The girl Hermione trying to free the house elves. Why would she want to do that? Why would Harry Potter be friends with someone so mean?" Blink looked obviously very confused and very upset that anyone would think of freeing the house elves.   
  
Harry felt like it was his duty and started to explain it to Blink, "She believes that house elves are treated very unfairly in many wizarding households. She doesn't think that she's being mean, she just wants the house elves to be happy and she thinks that being free would make them happy. For her being free… means...," Harry paused mid- sentence as he realized the importance of something Blink had just said. Blink knew who Harry's friends were which would mean that Ms. Riddle would have had to have known too. So why had she asked Harry who his friends were?   
  
Harry did not have any more time to ponder the problem because just then Ms. Riddle gave a muffled screech and stood up clearly exasperated. She looked at Harry and gave him another glare that made Harry feel like hiding behind Blink- which wouldn't have been very easy that's for sure. Her voice was cold and clipped when she finally spoke and to Harry it sounded as if nails were scraping across a blackboard very slowly and very harshly.  
  
"I have been ordered to return you to your… your…guardians. Your aunt and uncle. Stupid Muggles. Can't imagine why they put you in a family full of dumb as bricks Muggles. Just goes to show you how ridiculous the Ministry can be sometimes." She turned to Blink and said, "Blink, could you and Cush please see to packing Mr. Potter's things. He needs to be ready to leave in 5 minutes when the knightbus gets here." Blink immediately scampered off upstairs leaving Harry alone with Ms. Riddle.  
  
She smiled at him and Harry could tell that her smile was a little forced, but she did not seem to be mad, at least not at him. She sat down in her chair and stared up at Harry. "I really was looking forward to spending some time with you, but I have received a letter telling me to return you to the Dursleys. Normally I would, of course, ignore it, but I believe they might have a point. There are so many horrible things happening right now that it really is better to be safe than sorry. I'm sure there will be other times for us to get to know each other, right Harry?"  
  
Harry desperately wanted to shake his head but decided it was probably best not to anger her. After all- she was letting him go back to the Dursleys which was kind of confusing when he thought about it. Harry nodded his head and smiled but he knew it was much more forced than hers was.   
  
There was a long moment of awkward silence between them before Cush came down the stairs carrying Harry's trunk. He handed it to Harry with a slight frown in his direction which was very odd because Harry had never had a house elf frown at him. Normally they liked him. 'How odd,' he thought before he walked out of the room. The blood red room still looked freshly painted with little droplets occasionally falling on the floor. He walked across the bridge which looked much better in the dark than in the daylight and waited for the knightbus to show.   
  
Sure enough Harry saw the headlights rushing through the trees and it came to a somewhat shaky stop in front of him. Harry entered the bus and was met by a new porter this time- a much better looking one than Stanley. Harry was rather grateful not to have Stanley asking him questions but was kind of hurt when the new porter didn't even bother to check his bags or ask his name and instead just shoved him toward the back where all the bunks were. For the next twenty minutes Harry could nothing but hold on as the knightbus careened around Muggles, tress, and buildings. It finally came to a stop in front of the Dursleys and Harry quickly exited the bus.   
  
Harry stopped in front of the house to look up at it and for once felt glad to see it. He knew that the Dursleys were going to be very upset at him for… He wasn't really sure why they would be upset- he just knew they would be. Harry was just glad that he would never have to see July Riddle ever again. On the tail of that thought came a new one that Harry had thought about a lot during the summer; Harry wondered who on Earth his new Defense Against the Dark Arts could be. Then Harry began to wonder why those two thoughts seemed so interconnected. 


	4. Day 1 at Hogwarts

I'll admit that this chapter skips quite a bit of time here, but it's mainly in the interest of not boring any potential readers. Perhaps later I will think of something interesting to stick here. I own nothing except July Riddle, the plot, and an overbloating procrastination mechanism.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exited the carriage as soon as it came to a halt. All three stared up at the castle, shocked, as on every first day back, at how immense the castle seemed. They walked up the stairs in silence, each one reflecting in silence on the conversation they had had back in the carriage and on the train. Harry knew that Ron and Hermione were still worried about the break-in at Hogwarts. Harry was not sure how he could convince them that they were all safe- especially because he wasn't even sure of it himself.

Everyone entered the great hall in a huge rush and immediately headed to their respective table- eager to see people they had not seen since last June. Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed to the Gryffindor table where they sat down with Seamus, Neville, and Dean. Each tried to tell their summer tales before Dumbledore called for quiet so the sorting could begin. Only Seamus had managed to tell about his summer at his grandmother's house in the United States when everyone was hushed.

The Sorting Hat began the ceremony with its usual long poem, but this time the poem took a different turn. It seemed to be issuing a warning to everyone about the dangers the world now held and how the destruction of the wizarding world could be at hand. Only loyalty and friendship could save everyone from the dire peril that would be faced at the hands of Dark power-hungry wizards. The poem sobered everyone up and the mood in the Great Hall abruptly changed from excited to somber. But as the sorting began and each house gained new members the mood lightened with cheering, whooping, and whistling being issued loudly from each table.

Once the sorting had been completed Dumbledore stood and signaled once more for silence in the Hall. "The Forbidden Forest is still forbidden. The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year will be held in November. Certain students will not be able to attend due to various circumstances and security measures will have to be taken to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all those attending. Due to events in the wizarding world at large I urge all of you to use great caution this year. Please report any and all suspicions you may have directly to one of your professors." Dumbledore paused and added, "That does not mean that you may lie about your enemies to get them in trouble." (Ron muttered something under his breath that sounded close to "Damn.") Dumbledore made a move as if to sit down but then, as if on second thought, he stood up again. "I almost forgot. As you all know we were in need of a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. I was fortunate to find someone perfectly suited to the job. Unfortunately, for reasons I am not privy to, she is not here right now, but I'm sure she'll be here soon." Dumbledore sat down and began to eat and everyone else followed his lead.

"I wonder who our new teacher could be. I haven't read anything about it in the Daily Prophet- and you know how eager they usually are to print something bad about one of the teachers Dumbledore hired," Hermione said.

"My Dad says he hasn't got a clue about who it could be. No one at the Ministry has been able to figure it out," Ron piped in.

Harry nodded at them. He hadn't heard anyone speculate about who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He just hoped it was someone closer to Professor Lupin, rather than Professor Umbridge.

Harry and the others proceeded to eat with a few remarks popping up here and there about who the new teacher could possibly be, or how much harder sixth year was going to be.

Midway through the meal Dumbledore stood up and called for silence. "I have just received news that your new Professor is here right now and is trying to make her way to the Great Hall."

Just as he finished the doors to the Great hall slowly moved open and the new teacher walked in. Harry let out a shocked gasp and he could hear Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville doing the same. Harry immediately recognized the long black hair, the violet eyes, and the ghostly pale skin. His new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was July Riddle, Lord Voldemort's daughter. Ms. Riddle made her way up the walkway between two of the tables and reached the staff table. As she shook hands with Dumbledore Harry could see that she was just barely shorter than him. Even after she had taken off her cloak and sat down and Dumbledore had introduced her as "Professor Riddle" people continued to stare.

Harry returned to his gaze to the table only to notice that all four of the other boys were staring at Professor Riddle with wide-eyed expressions on their faces. Hermione was frowning at Ron and Harry couldn't help but smile at how jealous she was that Ron was looking at another girl. To help Hermione out Harry slapped Ron on the shoulder to bring him back to the present. He decided that the other three could remain in their trance for a while longer.

Ron still had a dreamy look on his face as he said, "Harry! I can not believe that she's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She's much too good looking to be a teacher. I hope I'm one of her favorite students." Harry could tell that Ron was going to start staring at the Professor again so he quickly hit him on the shoulder again. Ron seemed to snap fully out of it and jumped in his seat a little. He rubbed his shoulder while frowning at Harry. "Why'd you have to go and do that for?"

Harry looked at him pointedly. "Did you hear her name? It was Riddle! She's Voldemort's daughter. For God's sake Ron how can you look at her like that?" Harry tried to be more disgusted with Ron but in all honesty he couldn't really blame him.

Ron's eyes widened in shock and he stared at Harry as if he had just turned himself in to one of those bewitched bath towels that Aunt Petunia was so worried about. He opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it again. He did this several times in a row and Harry was reminded very much of a fish; a very red fish. Finally Ron managed to squeak out, "Daughter?"

Harry nodded his head at Ron and said, "Yes. She's his daughter."

Hermione, always the rational one, was still skeptical of Harry's conclusions. "How are you sure that she's Voldemort's daughter? I'm sure there are plenty of Riddle's in Britain- it could be just a coincidence." Ron nodded his head as if willing Harry to agree with her and make it okay to like the new teacher.

"I went to her house." Upon noting the incredulous looks on his friends' faces Harry continued, "She turned this old castle that her father left her into a hotel and the Dursleys had to go there and they took me. I met her there and she was really nice, but it was very creepy. She decorated my room in Gryffindor colours with Quidditch wallpaper and the bookshelves were filled with books about Defense Against the Dark Arts, like she knew that was my favorite subject. She never admitted to being his daughter but they look exactly alike. One of the rooms was even painted in blood, she has snake decorations everywhere, she speaks Parseltongue, and she talked about how she inherited her father's laugh and his love of snakes." Harry lay out the evidence as if a prosecutor trying to convince the jury to find the defendant guilty and at the end both Ron and Hermione couldn't help but feel a little queasy, Ron more so. "And…she knows about… she knows that I killed Voldemort."

Hermione could see that Ron was getting very nervous and to reassure him said, "Well, Dumbledore trusts her, so I don't think she's getting ready to kill us all." She forced a laugh as if she had made a joke, but it died quickly.

At that moment Ginny Weasley ran up to the three of them with a panicked look on her face. "Please tell me that she's no relation of… the other Riddle." She looked at Harry obviously wanting him to tell her that everything was going to be fine. Harry wished he could but he was forced to tell the truth.

"Ginny, keep in my mind that Dumbledore trusts her- enough so that he would hire her to teach all of us." Ginny could tell that Harry was not gong to reassure her that Ms. Riddle was not related to Tom Riddle and her face began to look even more panicked. "Ginny! I'm sure everything is going to be okay. I've met her before and I don't think she's like her father."

Ginny still didn't seem very placated. "Father? She's his daughter?"

Harry sighed, knowing that he was not going to be able to help Ginny right now. "Ginny… I'm sure that…" He broke of midsentence as his attention was caught by three people sitting on the other side of the hall. Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle were bent together and whispering furiously at each other. Harry could not hear what they were saying but he could tell that none of them were very pleased at the moment. Harry seized upon this and pointed it out to Ginny. "Look. Malfoy doesn't seem very pleased with the new appointment. If Ms… I mean Professor Riddle was in league with Voldemort don't you think they'd be tickled pink?" Harry saw Ginny's panicked expression began to ease up somewhat. "Let's see what happens tomorrow in class, okay?"

Ginny nodded her head a little shakily at first, but then more firmly, and then went to go take her seat with her other fifth year Gryffindors. Harry turned to Ron and thought, 'Now if only Ron were that easy to calm down,' because Ron did not look as if he had accepted Harry's explanation.

The three of them ate in silence, each thinking of what the consequences would be if the new Professor was in league with the Dark Lord. It was when the three of them were on their way up to the Gryffindor house that they started talking again.

Hermione said, "I don't really think we have that much to worry about. Dumbledore trusts her and that should be enough for all of us."

Harry added, "And she dislikes the Malfoys. She called Draco a 'stuck-up, arrogant, pretty boy.' And she seemed really disgusted when I told her that I was friends with Crabbe and Goyle."

Ron didn't seem as convinced as either of them. "Everyone makes mistakes. What if she cast a spell on Dumbledore so that he would make her teacher here and then she could get to you Harry? I mean Vol… you- know- who is her father and that's not something she's likely to forget."

Harry thought about this and said, "We should just keep our eyes ought just in case anything strange happens. We need to keep close together and watch out for each other. Okay?" He looked at each of them and they made their way up to the Gryffindor common room.

The common room was filled with shouts as everyone caught up with friends they hadn't seen all year and introduced themselves to the new first years who looked like cattle being sent to the slaughter. And with Michael Copper telling them all about Filch and Mrs. Norris, Harry couldn't really blame them. But the group that caught Harry's attention was the group in the corner of about fifteen guys and Harry could hear that their entire conversation centered around a certain new teacher. Harry tried to make his way over to the circle so that he could hear exactly what was being said but instead spent the whole night surrounded by the Creevey brothers, each trying to outdo each other with tales of their summer. By the time Harry had found a way to politely excuse himself the group had dispersed so Harry found Ron and they headed upstairs.

By the time Harry and Ron had arrived in their dorm room Neville, Seamus, and Dean were already in bed and Seamus and Dean seamed to be continuing the discussion that the small group downstairs had started. "She's so beautiful. And did you see her eyes? I think they were purple!" When Dean saw Harry and Ron enter the room he asked, "So, what did you two think of the new teacher? Pretty good, huh?" He waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner and Harry managed to smile weakly before getting into bed. Ron's slight green-ness became decidedly greener and Harry noticed that Neville was being surprisingly silent on the issue. Harry fell asleep with Seamus and Dean still chattering in the background. 


End file.
